


Fox Crawl

by AceOnIce



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, First Meetings, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, Healing, Kitsune Alec Lightwood, M/M, Major Character Injury, Pre-Slash, Warlock Magnus Bane, non sexual nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29925030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceOnIce/pseuds/AceOnIce
Summary: Magnus Bane loves being a Downworld Wildlife Specialist. His job is to heal and rehabilitate all sorts of magical creatures-- including a mysterious fox with a broken leg, two tails, and intelligent hazel eyes.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 16
Kudos: 53
Collections: Shadowhunters Fic Crawl 2021





	Fox Crawl

**Author's Note:**

> Happy St Patrick's Day!
> 
> Thank you to [SomeSleepySloth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeSleepySloth/pseuds/SomeSleepySloth) for betaing!

Magnus Bane loves his job as the Resident Downworld Wildlife Specialist of New York City, as long and annoying as the title itself may be. He loves the magical animals he cares for, the ones that don’t get the same attention as non-magical creatures. Because mundanes don’t know what to do with them and the shadow world is behind the times when it comes to animal care. 

To the mundane world, Magnus is an Exotic And Rare Animals Specialist. If they come across an animal that doesn’t look quite  _ right  _ they can bring it to him. He’s been brought a few odd-looking dogs and tailless cats, but, for the most part, people bring him magical animals.

Like now. The woman in front of him has a kennel set by her feet. From what Magnus can see, the animal inside appears to be a fox, but he can practically feel the magic radiating from it.

“Come in, Elaine. Let’s see what you have.”

Elaine looks nervous. Her hands flutter by her sides. “He didn’t try to bite me, but he growls a lot. His leg… it doesn’t look good.”

“Well, I’ll make sure we can get him fixed up,” Magnus says calmly. “May I?”

She nods and he reaches for the handle of the kennel. A growl comes from inside, just as Elaine had warned, but it sounds tired and half-hearted. Magnus is careful in the way he carries the fox inside, taking care not to jostle him, and the growling stops before he even reaches the ‘operating room’ which is really just where he uses his magic to heal any injured creatures he comes across. (Even the odd-looking dogs and tailless cats. They deserve the help, as mundane as they may be.)

Magnus sets the kennel on the table and peers at the fox, now at almost face level. As his initial judgement had predicted, the fox isn’t a standard red fox. For one thing, his coloring is off; he has a salt-and-pepper coloring with black ears and paws. In and of itself, this isn’t terribly odd— Magnus has heard about rare black and silver colored red foxes. It’s the second abnormality that convinces Magnus there’s something magical about this fox. Because, while Magnus has heard of foxes with mutations that change their fur color, he’s never heard of a fox with hazel eyes.

“I can take him from here,” Magnus says as he straightens up and turns back to Elaine. She’s hovering in the doorway, face creased with worry. 

“Are you sure?”

Magnus gives her a comforting smile. “I’m sure I can handle this. Thank you for bringing him here.”

He walks Elaine out before returning to the room with the probably-not-really-a-fox fox. He closes the door and bends in front of the kennel again, earning another attempted growl. 

“Oh, hush,” he chides. “I’m trying to help you. I’d prefer to fix up your leg without having to put a sleep spell on you, but I’m not going to let you bite me.”

When he’d started speaking, he was unsure of whether the fox could understand him, but his words have the fox’s growl fading away as he begins to whine lowly instead. 

“So you do understand,” he murmurs, sure that he can see the intelligence in those very-human hazel eyes. 

Magnus hums, stepping back. “I’ll let you out, but if you try anything, I’m putting a sleep spell on you so I can fix up your leg.”

The warlock snaps his fingers, letting the cage door open. After a second of hesitation, the fox steps half out before collapsing with a pitiful whine. 

Magnus hushes him, rushing forward to help him out of the crate and realizing just how badly injured the poor thing is, with its two back legs bleeding profusely. It’s almost enough to distract Magnus from the fact that it has not one, but  _ two  _ tails. 

He pushes the tails from his mind, summoning his magic to his hands and pressing it into the fox’s legs, disinfecting and healing them in under a minute, cleaning the dried blood from its fur for good measure. 

The fox gets to his feet and shakes, making a happy little noise.

“All better?” Magnus asks, a smile in his voice. The fox looks good as new, striding along the operating table. 

He doesn’t expect an answer and he definitely doesn’t expect the fox to suddenly turn into a very muscular and very attractive man, but that’s what happens. One minute, Magnus is watching a cute little fox and the next, he’s face-to-face with the most beautiful person he’s ever seen.

The man still has hazel eyes and dark hair, black now, but bears no other resemblance to his fox form. From the strong jaw to the scar in his eyebrow to the hair on his chest, there’s nothing inherently fox-like about him. And— Magnus somehow realizes lastly that the man is buck-naked. 

The warlock only ogles for a moment before he comes to his senses and snaps his eyes back to the man’s face. A light blush has dusted his cheeks, but he isn’t trying to hide himself, clearly comfortable with his own nudity. 

Magnus gathers himself together after an embarrassingly long time. “Well, who are  _ you?” _

He delights in watching the blush that spreads over the man’s cheeks and down his neck before he ducks his head and murmurs a “Thank you— for healing me.” 

And  _ that voice,  _ as if he wasn’t hot enough before he opened his mouth. “Would you like to borrow some clothes?”

“If you don’t mind.”

Magnus thinks it will be easier to keep his eyes on the mystery man’s, the _ shifter’s _ , face if he’s dressed, as remiss as he is to give up the sight. So he waves a hand, putting the man into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that are  _ almost  _ his size. 

“You’re a warlock, right?” The man asks, shifting like he’s trying to get used to his new clothes.

Magnus holds out a hand, “Magnus Bane, warlock and Downworld wildlife specialist.”

“Alexander— Alec Lightwood,” Alec answers, lips quirking up as he shakes Magnus’ hand, his large palm dwarfing the warlock’s. His grip is firm, fingers calloused and 

Now that they’re on a first name basis, Magnus asks the question that’s been on the tip of his tongue since Alec shifted. “What are you? If you don’t mind me asking.” 

“No, uh, it’s fine. I’m a kitsune.”

A Japanese ‘myth’. Somewhere along the lines of a magical fox. Magnus hadn’t even been sure they’d existed until now. He leans back against the wall. “What happened to your legs?”

Alec’s face darkens. “ _ Shadowhunters.” _

Of course. Something close to nausea stirs in Magnus’ stomach at the severity of the situation. “Are they after you?”

“Just bad luck,” Alec mutters, shrugging. “They caught up to us—” 

“Us?” Magnus interrupts, a bit disappointed that Alec might have a significant other, before worry takes that place, questioning what had happened to them.

Alec’s next words quell Magnus’ fears. “I was with my siblings. I stayed back to hold off the shadowhunters.”

Magnus is pretty sure his admiration shows on his face, but he can’t help it. Alec is both hot and loyal to the point of endangering himself, and Magnus just wants to know him better. “That’s very admirable.”

Alec looks uncomfortable at the praise and brushes it off with a shrug. “They’re my siblings… How much do I owe you? For the—” He makes a gesture that Magnus is sure is an over-exaggeration of his own gestures. 

“I’m a non-profit, tax-deductible and everything! You don’t owe me a cent, pretty boy _.”  _ Alec’s eyes widen, the flush coming back to his cheeks. He’s  _ adorable.  _ In fox and human form. “However, if you really want to make it up to me, you’re welcome to buy me a drink sometime.”

Alec blinks at him, but his features are slowly shifting into a bright smile. “That, uh, I can do that.”

“Wonderful.”

They exchange numbers before Alec says something about letting his siblings know he’s okay. Magnus reluctantly walks him to the door of the loft where Alec hesitates. 

“I’ll call you,” the kitsune promises.

Magnus feels a smile tugging at his lips, at how sincere Alec sounds. “I look forward to it.”


End file.
